Calling Balls and Strikes: ABS Challenge System

[Chip R]

I think the umpire would still have to remain where he is. Could he call foul tips from 10-15 feet back? Could he tell if the ball just barely hit a batter? Or if the ball hit the batter or the bat? Check swings?

This got me to thinking: When a catcher appeals a checked swing, either the first or third base ump indicates whether the batter did indeed swing or not. So, that means the ump already knows if the batter swung. Why should a catcher have to ask? I suppose getting the call right isn't all that sacrosanct after all if the ump knows the batter swung and did not call it. There are other instances in the game. Appeals as to whether a player missed a base or not. Whether he left too soon on a sac fly. If the ump knows the correct call, then why does the other team have to appeal?

I play vintage baseball and we only use one umpire who stations himself about 10 feet in foul territory down either the 1st or 3rd base line depending on whether the batter bats lefty or rights. Foul tips caught either in the air or on one bounce are an out. Players are usually on the honor system but the umpire can see/hear a foul tip too. I've heard them from 40 feet away. Of course we don't play in front of thousands of people but, like most calls, they can always go to replay.

Only the defense can appeal a checked swing so any appeal is when the plate umpire says it wasn't a swing. On the bases, the base umpire may or may not have seen the runner miss a base or leave the base too soon. They are supposed to look - especially on sac flies - but they won't sY anything unless the defense appeals.

[Ron Madden]

I wonder how often this occurs?

This is the first time I’ve ever heard of it happening.

Umpire Scorecards' database actually goes all the way back to the start of the 2015 season – and Hoberg's Game 2 performance is still the only perfect game it has ever recorded.

https://www.upi.com/Sports_News/MLB/...1731673615688/

[Ron Madden]

MLB to expand electronic strike zone to all Triple-A ballparks

MIAMI, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- All 30 Triple-A baseball stadiums will implement the electronic strike zone during the 2023 season after experimenting with the technology last season, a league source told UPI on Friday.

https://www.upi.com/Sports_News/MLB/...1731673615688/

[Sea Ray]

MLB to expand electronic strike zone to all Triple-A ballparks
https://www.upi.com/Sports_News/MLB/...1731673615688/

I can't picture how this works:

Over the last few seasons, MLB used two forms of the system in Minor League Baseball and other lower-level games. One application involves an umpire still standing behind home plate to signal balls and strikes and other calls, but using the system to judge the strike zone.

[RedsManRick]

I can't picture how this works:

Pretty easy. Imagine how the game currently looks. Now imagine nothing changes except that the umpires do a better job calling the strike zone because they have a tool assisting them.

[Bob Sheed]

More efficient is not always better. Higher degrees of optimization is not always better. Mistakes don't always make something worse.

There is a strong push these days, not just in baseball, but everywhere, to optimize everything based on data. This usually involves taking the human element out of it. There are huge costs to this, and topping that list of consequences is the loss of variety.

Nevermind any other medium, just look at what it has done to baseball so far. Three outcomes. Shifting. 5 inning starting pitchers. Endless downtime between pitches. Non-stop advertisements rolling across the screen, even during live action. Etc. All driven by data analytics.

Do all of these things make the game more efficient? More optimized? Absolutely. But does it make the game better? I would argue that it does not. Baseball is supposed to be imperfect. I think so anyway. Sometimes the best parts about a song, a work of art, a baseball game, are the mistakes. The imperfections.

So, fine. Bring on the robo umps. Perfectly called balls and strikes with an optimized and consistent strike zone. No more eye rolls from the batters. No more framing pitches by the catchers. No more questioning looks. No more arguing with the umps. Just pure, optimized, efficient, "perfect" baseball.

Yippee...

[mth123]

More efficient is not always better. Higher degrees of optimization is not always better. Mistakes don't always make something worse.

There is a strong push these days, not just in baseball, but everywhere, to optimize everything based on data. This usually involves taking the human element out of it. There are huge costs to this, and topping that list of consequences is the loss of variety.

Nevermind any other medium, just look at what it has done to baseball so far. Three outcomes. Shifting. 5 inning starting pitchers. Endless downtime between pitches. Non-stop advertisements rolling across the screen, even during live action. Etc. All driven by data analytics.

Do all of these things make the game more efficient? More optimized? Absolutely. But does it make the game better? I would argue that it does not. Baseball is supposed to be imperfect. I think so anyway. Sometimes the best parts about a song, a work of art, a baseball game, are the mistakes. The imperfections.

So, fine. Bring on the robo umps. Perfectly called balls and strikes with an optimized and consistent strike zone. No more eye rolls from the batters. No more framing pitches by the catchers. No more questioning looks. No more arguing with the umps. Just pure, optimized, efficient, "perfect" baseball.

Yippee...

Anything that eliminates egomaniacal umps from chasing guys back to the dugout because they had their feelings hurt when somebody even slightly showed frustration at the terrible and inconsistent calls they make is good with me. I hate the attitude of the umps themselves a lot more than I hate the bad calls.

Robo umps, no arguing and everybody just shut-up and play.

[goreds2]

Futures Game

When: Saturday, July 8 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: T-Mobile Park (Seattle, WA)
TV/Streaming: Peacock

Automated strike zone challenge system in play

Automated strike zone challenge system in play
The Futures Game will experiment with the same automated strike-zone challenge system that has been used throughout the Triple-A season. Essentially, a human umpire will call balls and strikes, but teams will be allowed two challenges per game that force the umpires to consult with the automated strike zone. The players initiate said challenges by tapping on their helmets. A team cannot gain or maintain challenges once they're used.

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/2...ff-in-seattle/

[RED VAN HOT]

I'd like to find a way to automate the swing/no swing decision. Right now it is almost like a coin flip.